One upside of everybody constantly filming everything with their glasses

Years ago I was at a friend’s wedding. As the happy couple left the church and we all threw birdseed or blew bubbles or whatever, a family member I didn’t know scolded me for taking a spot with a decent view—apparently I was blocking the videographer’s shot.

I held my tongue and stepped aside, but I was pretty annoyed. While most of the guests were local, a couple friends and I had flown clear across the country to be there. I’m pretty sure there were no homebound grandparents who couldn’t attend. This all-important video was just a memento for those who could.

Like a lot of people, I consume my media and use my sundry gadgets with a good dose of ambivalence. I’m not too interested in debates about the relative merits of e-books and dead-tree ones, and I don’t think there’s any question that social media has been a net positive. What bothers me is when I or the people around me seem genuinely to value mediated experience more than the thing itself.